​The outside of the Mississippi State University School of Architecture on Capitol Street is deceptive. The building's white facade blends in with the other storefronts, so if you aren't looking carefully, you may miss it.

The Mississippi State University School of Architecture’s downtown location is where fifth-year students go to complete their degree and eventually get a certification. Photo by Stephen Wilson

​Inside is a different story. From the front door past the school's library, a tall structure of black fibers and strands of LED lights called the "Infinity Ladder" reaches up toward a high ceiling. Small origami boxes, which are sometimes lit with small LEDs, hang from the adjacent hallway's ceiling.

The Mississippi Light Collaborative, which is the brainchild of local artist Anik Kurkjian (the "Light Lady") shares the first-floor space at the Mississippi School of Architecture downtown, where fifth-year students go to complete their degrees.

"The idea was that the students come from Starkville, and they come to Jackson, where most of the practitioners are," Jassen Callendar, who is the director of the downtown location, says. "This last year is focused on urban design and professional practice, so they get to meet the local practitioners. ... The bulk of the architects in the state are in this city, so it's an opportunity to know them and get jobs and (for) us to bring them in as adjuncts or critics on projects."

The MSU School of Architecture’s library is one of the first things people may notice when entering the building. Photo by Stephen Wilson

​In a room in the center of the building, tall walls covered in light brown wood reach up toward a high skylight. During a recent Light Collaborative space opening event, an interactive, electronic quilt was projected on one of the walls.

When Kurkjian, a Brighton, U.K., native, first arrived in Jackson, she had a contract with the Mississippi Museum of Art to be the designer and producer for its "Mapping a Modern Mississippi" initiative. She left in November 2016 to pursue Mississippi Light Collaborative, which resulted in the first annual Mississippi Light Festival in 2017.

When she first had the idea for the festival, she thought the only person who would understand the concept was an architect, so she met with Callendar. When he learned that the Mississippi Light Collaborative didn't have a space, he offered to let her use the first floor of the building. They held an opening event for the space on Thursday, Feb. 1.

The Mississipi Light Collaborative’s space has light-based artworks such as the “Infinity Ladder.” Photo by Stephen Wilson

Some people may not realize it, but when they look up to the top of the lightwell, they're looking up at the floor that houses the fifth-year students.

"(Aspects like the lightwell) are the things that always inspire people when they come in the front door," he says.

On the top floor, large desk areas with blueprints, designs, cardboard models and more snake through the halls. The second floor houses offices and classrooms. Callendar says that most of the wood flooring in the building is original, and a few of the walls have exposed bricks and paint layers.

"It's just beautiful, the light that trickles through this place," Kurkjian says.

For more information about the Mississippi Light Collaborative, visit mslightcollaborative.com or find the organization on Facebook.